The Striker, a class produced by the company Fat Goblin Games, excels at the art of “specialized killings.” They move silently to recover and steal assigned items from highly guarded and protected organizations and strongholds. Many Strikers act out of personal agendas and ancient grudges, and anyone who gets in their way won’t live to see the sun rise. The men and women who decide they want to play this imaginative class, if they play it right, should be in for a fun time. Designed for the Pathfinder Role-playing Game, the class combines elements of the rogue, ranger, an interesting combination of the monk’s ki pool, and the bardic performances for a stealthy, combat oriented class.

A player considering this class will first notice the sheer number of skills the Striker gets (8+int). At first level the Striker obtains the ability to essentially use the rouge’s sneak attack when he/she moves 10ft or more. Ten feet is a relatively small step, only two squares. At initial glance this ability seems completely broken. Can’t a PC step backwards and then saunter back up to the enemy to take a strike with a bonus to his damage? No, at least not without provoking an attack of opportunity. For a player or GM to take full advantage of this ability, creativity will be stressed. At first level, the Striker stole
the Ranger’s favored terrain and stripped it down. Effectively, it functions like the favored terrain except lacks the knowledge bonus and the specialty to leave no tracks. The final function of a 1st level Striker is a nifty maneuvers system. The system works similar to the monk’s ki pool. One half the
Striker’s level plus intelligence and the choice to select one maneuver, sets the Striker apart. Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, reduced tracking penalties in favored ground, and a few others round out the feel of a character who should always be on the move.

Surprisingly, Fat Goblin Games decided to add even more. Archetypes add even more versatility to the class. Archetypes replace abilities, in the class they were built for, instead of forcing the creator to craft a whole new class. It revolutionizes classes, changing the feel completely. The Saboteur masters the art of disabling devices to assist the party in moving from point a to b without setting off traps. Anyone wanting to play a character focused on deceptions and poisons should take a look at the Spy Master. The last archetype presented is the Infiltrator, a man who specializes in stealth and deception and should be the first pick for any undercover operation. If that wasn’t enough added bevies of new feats and weapons, all based around the idea of mobility and stealth.

This class sparks ideas and character builds that all seem like they would be a blast to play. Nothing seems to overpowered or underpowered upon study. Which fans of the Pathfinder system should be grateful for, since the power-creep in 3.5 ended so steeply. The document comes in at 11 pages, which actually seems very cheap for just a $2 document. Also, the art from the piece amazes anyone. It models the typical Pathfinder art. Over all this document makes up for the money spent tenfold. It looks to be a very fun class to play and my only qualm is Paizo didn’t write this up, so its not legal for organized play.